this is bbc news. the headlines at ten: the queen pays tribute to ‘unsung heroes‘ who do ‘small acts of goodness‘ in her christmas message. i often draw strength from meeting ordinary people doing extraordinary things. volunteers, carers, community organisers and good neighbours. but she‘s forced to miss the christmas day church service at sandringham because of a heavy cold. 11 bodies have been recovered from the black sea after a russian military plane crashes, killing all 92 people on board. also in the next hour, in his christmas day sermon the archbishop of canterbury says the last year has left the world "awash with division and fear". pope francis calls for a new effort for peace between israel and the palestinians, at his christmas mass from the vatican. and carrie fisher‘s mother, the actress debbie reynolds has written on social media

that her daughter is in a stable condition in hospital in la. in halfan in half an hour i will be looking back at a diverse year in film. that‘s review 2016, the year in a film with me, mark commode. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the queen has missed her annual christmas day visit to church because of a heavy cold. other members of the royal family including the duke of edinburgh attended the service at sandringham without her. in her traditional christmas broadcast, the queen focussed on the theme of "inspiration". 0ur royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, reports. christmas day service

at sandringham church, this year, without the queen. other members of the family including the duke of edinburgh attended, but the queen remained at sandringham house, continuing to recover from what buckingham palace has described as a heavy cold. after the service the family appeared to be relaxed. the queen‘s absence is understood to have been precautionary. there is no sense of due concern. also absent from sandringham this year, the duke and duchess of cambridge and their children, george and charlotte. they attended church at bucklebury, berkshire, where they spent the day with the family of the duchess, the middletons. inspiration was the theme of this year‘s christmas broadcast by the queen, which was recorded at buckingham palace some days ago. she cited achievements of olympic and paralympic athletes and said that she also drew inspiration from daily life.

i often draw strength from meeting ordinary people doing extraordinary things. volunteers, carers, community organisers and good neighbours. unsung heroes whose quiet dedication makes them special. she recalled this had been the year of her 90th birthday and paid tribute to the inspiring work of charities with which she has been associated. she said much more could be achieved globally by acting with others. it‘s understandable that we sometimes think the world‘s problems are such that we can do little to help. on our own, we cannot end wars or right injustice. but the cumulative impact of thousands of small acts of goodness can be bigger than we imagine. her own life, she said, had been guided by the inspiring message of christianity. the example of the small

things with great love, whoever does them, and what ever they themselves believe. it was a broadcast by a monarch who, although usually indisposed this christmas, shows little sign of yielding to the passage of years. for the queen this year there has been that significant 90th birthday and some lightening of the workload, but there is no expectation whatsoever that she will step away from the core duties of her role as monarch and head of state. and nick said there is no cause for alarm over the queen‘s health. no appearance today a church in the first time for many years. no sense of undue concern. we can detect both

from the demeanour of the family including the duke of edinburgh who also had a cold, he looked as though there was little wrong with him. they all looked relaxed and buckingham palace officials are not indicating there is any cause for alarm. it was a protective move, given that she is the age she is. it was felt better she should remain indoors and not go out to church on this occasion. it will disappoint those who made the journey to sandringham. they didn‘t see the queen but nor did they see prince william or his family. they spent christmas day with the middleton family in berkshire. eleven bodies have been recovered after a russian military plane with more than 90 people on board crashed into the black sea. the plane was carrying 64 members of the renowned red army choir and was heading from sochi to latakia in syria. russian president vladimir putin has declared a day of mourning tomorrow. from moscow, steve rosenberg sent this report. this is one of the final images

of the tupolev—154 jet. it was taken by a journalist before he boarded the plane. the flight would end in tragedy. the aircraft crashed into the black sea. the russians scrambled helicopters and ships but the search became a recovery operation. there were no survivors. the plane had taken off from a military airfield near moscow. it flew south, stopping in sochi to refuel. the final destination was syria, and russia‘s airbase near latakia, but minutes after leaving sochi, it crashed. at the russian defence ministry, a spokesman said that more than 90 people were on board the plane. he said the recovery operation was continuing. on board were more than 60 members of the russian army‘s famous song and dance ensemble, once known as the red army choir. they had been due to give a concert at the russian airbase in syria.

also killed was a prominent humanitarian activist, known to millions of russians. most civilian airlines have stopped using the tupolev—154, once the workhorse of the russian aviation industry. in 2010, a tupolev—154 carrying the polish president crashed in russia, while trying to land. the following year, a similar plane caught fire in siberia before take—off. throughout the day, muscovites brought flowers to the headquarters of the russian army choir. this has left russia stunned and silence. the kremlin has promised a thorough investigation into this tragedy. it has also declared monday a day of national mourning. 0lga ivshina of the bbc russian service has been looking into the reaction in russia.

this is a deep shock for most russians, because the red army choir a lwa ys russians, because the red army choir always receives a warm welcome in russia. she was also helping hospitals in syria and was a humanitarian activist and adored by many in russia. church leaders have used their christmas sermons to reflect on the emotional impact of global events in 2016. the archbishop of canterbury, justin welby, told his congregation that the end of the year leaves people in a less predictable world. martin bashir reports. entering canterbury cathedral in time—honoured fashion, archbishop justin welby focused his christmas day sermon on the uncertainty and division that

has marked both domestic and international politics over the last year. he described 2016 as a year of unpredictability and uncertainty, the end of 2016 finds us in a less predictable world which feels more awash with fear and division. he went on to suggest that our anxiety is a clear sign that placing our trust in material prosperity has failed. the uncertainty of our world and our feelings tell us our values all in the wrong place. in rome, where additional security was in place following the berlin attack, pope francis also criticised materialism, and appealed to christians to stand out as people of compassion and self—sacrifice. translation: it is time for weapons to be still forever and the international community to actively

seek a negotiated solution so that civil coexistence can be restored in the country. he concluded by appealing for christians to stand out as people of compassion and self—sacrifice. 0ur rome correspondent david willey listened to the pope‘s message and gave us this update. it is not unexpected that he devoted his message to the problem of world peace. he lamented the fact that there is so much conflict going on, wherever you look in the world — the middle east, africa, his native latin america. and even he referred to the conflict still going on between north and south korea, the fact that there has been no end to the state of war, which has existed for decades

between those two countries. he says without peace, there is no future for the world. people have the resolve their conflicts. and then he went on to talk in a much more personal way about all of those who have suffered, not only those who have suffered from violence, he mentioned, he mentioned the berlin terrorist attack, but also the children who have been suffering in syria. the children who have been suffering in other ways as well, brought over from africa across the mediterranean on these overcrowded boats, many of them losing their lives. and the children who are hungry because they are malnourished. carrie fisher is stable and her

mother has thanked fans for their support. chile has lifted a tsunami alert, after an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 struck off the coast. the quake hit 140 miles southwest of puerto montt. buildings in the area were evacuated as a precaution, but there are no reports of damage or casualties. a world war ii bomb that caused the evacuation of more than 50,000 residents of a german city has now been defused. residents of the southern german city of augsburghad had been forced to leave their homes on christmas day so that the huge bomb could be defused. this was the biggest evacuation in germany for an unexploded bomb since the end of the war.

the british bomb is thought to be a legacy of an allied air—raid in 19114, which destroyed the old town. the israeli leader benjamin neta nyahu has ordered his foreign ministry to summon and reprimand ambassadors from countries on the united nations security council, including britain. the move is a response to the un vote on friday that condemned israel‘s building of jewish settlements in the occupied west bank. 0ur middle east analyst, alanjohnston, told me that mr netanyahu‘s action shows his frustration with the security council. it looks as if a number of ambassadors in israel did not quite have the kind of christmas day they may have been planning. as you say, a string of them called into the foreign ministry on the orders of benjamin netanyahu and the british, french, the russians, the chinese, the spanish, the and others will have been left

in no doubt at all as to israel‘s deep frustration about what happened on friday. the passing of that un resolution which strongly condemned the israeli settlement building project in the occupied territories, describing it as a flagrant violation of international law. suddenly israel found itself without a friend in the world after the us turned its back on the israelis and allow the resolution to go and didn‘t veto it, the message is clear from the world body and israel is not accepting it for one moment. the headlines on bbc news. the headlines at ten: the queen pays tribute to ‘unsung heroes‘ who do ‘small acts of goodness‘ in her christmas message. but she‘s forced to miss the christmas day church service at sandringham because of a heavy cold. 11 bodies have been recovered from the black sea after a russian military plane crashes,

killing all 92 people on board. christmas is a time for family, but if you don‘t have one, it can be difficult. the poet lemn sissay knows exactly how that feels. he was fostered as a baby but when he turned 12, his foster family gave him up. he spent the next five years in and out of children‘s homes. that‘s why each year he organises special christmas dinners for young people who‘ve left care. jayne mccubbin went to meet him as he prepared for one of those dinners in hackney in east london. not everyone has someone at christmas. this isn‘t my... you're better with words. i‘m better with words. lemn sissay understands this. author, poet, broadcaster, orphan. there was nobody there. you were on your own? yeah, i was on my own. if i visited a friend‘s house, i often felt i was the boy with no family who was going to visit

families, you know? # jingle bells, jingle all the way.# here in hackney, he‘s getting ready for one of his care leavers‘ christmas dinners — a project that has grown from one city to five cities in four years. all of the gifts here have been donated by strangers, and all the parties will all be run by volunteers. do we really not know the words tojingle bells? the only reason we do the christmas dinner is so that those young care leavers go away with a memory that they can look onto next year. that‘s all christmas is — it‘s the making of a memory for you to look onto next year. so we all come around the christmas dinner table and we all remember, "we did this last year, and it was incredible". for a lot of care leavers, the memory was a bad one from the year before. we are creating memories.

this is his passion, and for the team, that passion is infectious. this is amanda, who is sorting everybody out. am i right? we have 20 volunteers — 60 young people, four hairstylists, artists, musicians, social workers coming down to do a really amazing christmas day for young people. it's gonna be amazing. this is sabrina, who is the hair woman and stylist, and she is pretty incredible! as a care leaver myself, i know how important it is to give self—esteem and to feel like people care. this incredible man is ryan. ryan is going to be the chef for the evening. when i was 14 i went into temporary foster care for a weekend,

and it sort of turned into nearly five years. christmas is about family, and not everyone is lucky enough to have it. the best part of the day was sitting down and having a meal with everyone, getting to know people. messages from previous dinners showjust how much they mean to care leavers. everyone looks happy. i won‘t ever forget this day! everything was spot on. amazed by it, amazed by everything. i hope they have one next year as well! and that is totally the plan. all: merry christmas! now for meet the author. alexander mccall smith is as popular as

prolific. when the number one ladies detective agency first appeared, his heroin became an instant friend to readers around the world. precious and graces the 17th book in the series alongside the 11 volumes in the 44 scotland st books written as a newspaper serial. here is one of oui’ a newspaper serial. here is one of our most popular writers. welcome. why do you think your heroin became such a close and intimate friend of the reader so quickly? i think it is

something to do with their gentle, understanding character. readers like to be in the company of someone they like. somebody they feel they would like to sit down in real life with and enjoy a cup of tea. i think she provided out. i think you illustrate their one of the qualities that people who know the books will recognise. plus it kind of life, the sort of a life you like to write about. it is not devoid of excitement and drama, but they are somehow domestic dramas, aren‘t they? yes, people respond quite well to that. most of us leave relatively uneventful lives. most of us the —— lead lives when nothing spectacular happens and are not constant explosions or kidnapped. we rather like to spend time in the fictional sense in those circumstances. i think one can make big points about

the world in gentle fiction. you can say things about some of the profound issues we face. but do it ina profound issues we face. but do it in a gentle way. in a sense, you make more of a point with people in that way, for example, if you use humour to make that way, for example, if you use humourto makea that way, for example, if you use humour to make a point, you‘re more likely to get it across. botswana is a perfect setting, the country you are very fond of and know very well. is an exceptional country in the sense that the reason i wrote these books is because it had that effect on me. i was so impressed with it i found i light and admired it. on me. i was so impressed with it i found i lightand admired it. i on me. i was so impressed with it i found i light and admired it. i was an admirer ofa found i light and admired it. i was an admirer of a country that had been a rather difficult circumstances in that it was surrounded by conflict, but managed to maintain its integrity and approach life in a quiet an organised way. i was very taken by this and by the politeness and courtesy of the people. i felt this was an island of peace, tranquillity

and wisdom in a sense. you are describing their clearly your own style a nd describing their clearly your own style and if you take the 44 scotla nd style and if you take the 44 scotland st stories, set in a tenement block in edinburgh, your hometown, where they doings of the various people who live on the different floors are explore meticulously, it is a particular kind of fiction you enjoyed. parting the curtains and having a peek. you could call it social comedy, social fiction, looking at the lives of people and their quirks and a little ways and having fun with them. i enjoy that. we are all absurd to a greater or lesser extent, aren‘t we? and we can make terrific amount is out of molehills. you've made a mountain out of all of these molehills! you are extraordinarily prolific. the scotland street series has been running and running and the

number one lady‘s detective series is now in its 17th volume. you also have the isabella dalhousie novels. i also then there is a lot of you in her, because she is a mad about wh auden. as you. i agree with her on so auden. as you. i agree with her on so many matters and we are in 100% agreement. i also agree with most of my characters. they don‘t have to scratch hard to see where they get their ideas. your enthusiasm for wh auden is well—known to people who know your fiction. what is is about him that has moved you always? he was such a wonderful comic humane voice. when i first started reading his poetry, many years ago, i was just so arrested by it and struck by the strength of the ideas and the complexity of the ideas and the beauty of the language. he is a manages to say the most profound

things about life in a very beautiful way. there is an enormous breadth there as you say, and you‘re a polymath in many ways yourself, because you‘re an academic and in the medical law field and then you suddenly discovered that brightening was more 01’ suddenly discovered that brightening was more or less taking over your life. you are producing up to five books a year. how do you organise your life to do that? is it meticulously organised ? your life to do that? is it meticulously organised? you have to be careful if you are doing that number of books each year. i have a season number of books each year. i have a season for each series and there will be a few months where i know i have to write the next book. you know when it is the time to do it and then sit down and do it? years. the one thing you can‘t do as an author is wait for inspiration to strike. you can‘t wait for the new was to appear. you have to be there at your desk, because the news will

not appear. she may, once you have sat down and started working. looking for the kinds of books you read yourself and admire, i know that an author you particularly add and perhaps as not have the attention that many people think she deserves is barbara storm conor —— pym. it ties in with something about the feeling of calm. she is concerned with small matters and the, exploration of them. barbara pym was the 20th—century jane austen. she is capable of same big things about people on the small canvas. so she would have a character saying, as happens in one of her books, character says, i never thought i was the sort of person who would deserve my own bathroom. that is a wonderful statement. very moving. appointments

is something that i think you have got a strong feeling for. the sadness of things that happen in everyday life, the lack of fulfilment in some small way that adds up to disappointment or, alternatively to contentment. that is what interests and moves you isn‘t it? is what interests and moves you isn't it? yes, i find myself very moved by certain things. in one of my series, one character who is from a poor background has a beautiful lace handkerchief and that represents everything that she would like to have in this life. it represents beauty, her ideal. ifind myself moved by that sort of thing. where‘d you go from here? 17 books in series, almost as many in 44 scotla nd in series, almost as many in 44 scotland st. can you just see yourself carrying gone forever? well, not forever. well, i remember

you telling your story about being ona you telling your story about being on a plane and sitting opposite somebody who was finishing one of your books and saying, oh, dear. and not realising you are sat there and you leaned over and said don‘t worry, there will be another one coming. on that flight, i was brightening the next book in that series as this person was reading the previous one. alexander mccall smith, thank you. thank you. now for the weather. a very windy end to christmas day. storm force winds in scotland. boxing day, still some wind but also sunshine. better compared to what we had today. grey skies, mild weather

brought in by storm conor to the north of us. short—term, this is what is happening. a cold front coming from the north sea that i‘m going to the south—west through the midlands. this is the dividing line between mild and cold air. it is called across scotland and the very top end of the pennines. wintry showers. temperatures close to freezing. the far south hanging on to some of that mild air. this high will be a player in the next few days. but at the moment, storm conor is to the north. fierce winds for the north of scotland and an amber warning in force. down south, a different story. lighter winds. warning in force. down south, a different story. lighterwinds. look at the temperatures. we had highs of

14, so we drop, but we have sunshine socialising crisp. the buy think the southern two thirds of the country should have something like this on boxing day. tuesday, high—pressure world form. intense eye pressure. —— intends high pressure. it will be a clear night. wednesday morning frost. fog. could be problematic. if you‘re travelling, bear in mind it could be tricky. and this is bbc news, the headlines:

the queen pays tribute to what she calls and sing heroes, such as ca re rs calls and sing heroes, such as carers and volunteers, in her christmas message. i often draw strength from meeting ordinary people. volunteers, carers, community organisers, and good neighbours. meanwhile, she misses the christmas day church service at sandringham as she has a cold. the duke of edinburgh and other royals attended on the norfolk estate. at least 11 bodies have been recovered from the black sea after a russian military plane crashed killing all 92 people on board.